Search Results for: Senate

The US Senate voted Wednesday to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The US House of Representatives impeached Mayorkas in February over his handling of the migrant situation at the US-Mexico border. The articles of impeachment asserted that Mayorkas did not comply with his duties under the Immigration and Nationality [...]

Gijs de Bra is a JURIST Assistant Editor and SCOTUS special correspondent, and a 2L at Cornell Law School. When, if ever, does a person “corruptly” solicit or offer a gift with intent to influence government action? That question kept Colleen Sinzdak, counsel for the US government, busy for almost all of her argument before [...]

Colorado’s House of Representatives passed HB 1292 Sunday by a vote of 35-27. The bill bans the sale and transfer of semiautomatic firearms within the state and will now head to the state senate. The bill prohibits people from manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell or transferring ownership of an “assault weapon.” The bill [...]

The US Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday in Snyder v. United States, a case involving illegal gratuities paid to a local government official. The issue is whether the federal government can use 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B)—known as federal funds bribery—to prosecute those who give and take illegal gratuities or whether the statute only [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urged the Italian government on Friday to amend their planned reforms to defamation legislation to comply with European and international law. This comes days after amendments to this proposed legislation were revealed to include a potential ban on working as a journalist as well as increased fines. RSF heavily criticized the [...]

The US House of Representatives passed on Friday a two-year reauthorization of an expiring warrantless surveillance law that had been stalled earlier in the week. The passed bill extends a contentious provision called Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also known as FISA. Wiretapping for national security investigations involving Americans or individuals within [...]

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D) vetoed SB 233 on Friday, a Senate bill aimed at prohibiting gender-affirming care for transgender youth, including surgery, hormone treatments, and puberty blockers. Additionally, it proposed revoking the licenses of doctors providing such care and restricting state funds for gender-affirming treatments. Kelly stated that she vetoed the bill because “he [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a plan Thursday to expand background check requirements for gun dealers. The goal of the plan is to close loopholes for gun shows and online sales while simultaneously expanding the definition for firearm dealers required to be licensed. The rules, which fulfill provisions in the 2022 Bipartisan Safer [...]

Federalist Society president Leonard Leo was subpoenaed by the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday as part of the committee’s ongoing ethics investigation into the Supreme Court. The subpoena was authorized by the committee in November of last year when Durbin stated their goal “has been to ensure that like all other federal judges, Supreme Court [...]

The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would define biological sex in binary terms based on individuals’ reproductive systems rather than their gender identity. House Bill (HB) 111 would amend the Alabama Code to define sex-based terms, provide policy relating to sex and gender identity, allow public entities to establish some [...]